Chapter 25
He's mother brought the fried radish balls to the table and warned, "Be careful of the heat."
The radishes that have survived the winter are sweet. He's mother makes some radish balls every winter. She picks the round and solid radishes, washes and peels them, then uses a planer to shred the radishes, adds a little flour, mixes them into a paste, then adds some green onions and salt, and puts them one by one into a shallow oil pan with a spoon, and scoops them out when they turn golden yellow.
When He Guijuan and her brother were young, their favorite food was radish balls. In the past, supplies were scarce and the family could only get a little oil every month. Radish balls had to be fried, and eating them once was a luxury. But during the holidays, He's mother would always fry some for the children to make them happy.
Every time she fried radish balls, her children would stand on tiptoe around the pot and watch. The past days seemed to be still before her eyes, but in the blink of an eye, her children had already started their own families.
The girl works as a doctor in the county hospital and has a very good reputation among the local people in Qingjian County. The son-in-law is a county party committee cadre. He is a down-to-earth person and is also very good to their girl. He has no bad habits. The girl has not had a child for so many years, but the son-in-law has never complained.
The son works as a driver in a transportation company in Yuanjiang County, responsible for delivering goods to mountainous areas. The daughter-in-law, Tang Hongmei, is his son's middle school classmate. She is beautiful, has a good personality, and is filial. She has never argued with the old couple.
Apart from not having children, I have no regrets in my life.
Jiang Jiang picked up a fried radish ball with chopsticks. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. He blew on it and took a small bite. It was crispy and salty on the outside, and juicy on the inside. It had the sweet taste of radish and the aroma of onion. It was especially delicious.
"Jiang Jiang, is it delicious?" He's mother touched the child's head.
"Yeah, it's delicious." Jiang Jiang nodded.
"How about some mutton dumplings for lunch? We just happen to have some mutton at home."
"Okay, I love eating the dumplings my mother makes the most."
After that, He's mother chatted with her daughter for a while, and then went to prepare to make dumplings. He Guijuan and Tang Hongmei also got up and went to the kitchen to help. Old man He went to the yard to chop firewood for cooking dumplings, and He Xiaojun helped to chop the fillings for the dumplings.
Jiang Jiang wanted to light the fire, but her family wouldn't let her, so Jiang Jiang could only watch He's mother make dumplings.
He's mother has nimble hands and is very skilled in making dumplings. With a little force between her thumb and index finger, she can create a beautiful fold.
"Do you want to try it?" He Guijuan asked with a smile when she saw that she was so engrossed in watching.
Jiang Jiang looked up at her and said, "This... I don't know how to wrap it."
Jiang Jiang actually doesn't know how to cook. After all, she is just a little girl and no one has taught her. Every time she just washes and chops up edible wild vegetables and throws them into the pot. She then adds some coarse grains such as potatoes, sorghum flour, and rice bran and cooks them together to make a meal. She can't even cook properly, let alone such a difficult task as making dumplings.
"Mom will teach you."
As she spoke, He Guijuan put down the work of rolling the dough, stood behind her, and taught Jiang Jiang how to make dumplings step by step.
"Put the dumpling filling in the middle of the dumpling wrapper, then pinch it between your thumb and index finger, and a dumpling is ready."
Jiang Jiang looked at the dumplings she had made. Although they were not as good as the ones made by He's mother, they still looked pretty good.
"Try it yourself." He Guijuan let go of her hand.
Jiang Jiang nodded and took a new dumpling wrapper. However, without He Guijuan's help, Jiang Jiang's movements became much more clumsy. It took him a lot of effort to barely wrap a dumpling, which looked crooked.
When the adults saw the dumplings made by Jiang Jiang, they couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s wrapped very well.”
He's mother's praise made Jiang Jiang blush.
The atmosphere in the He family is very good. When the women are busy, the men are always helping. Unlike the Lin family in Dongxi Village, it is usually the women who are busy, with their hands soaked red in cold water, and the men always stay out of kitchen matters.
We had mutton dumplings for lunch, made with freshly slaughtered mutton and chopped green onions. Gravy would ooze out when we took a bite. He's mother kneaded the dough well, not too hard or too soft, and it tasted especially delicious.
Jiang Jiang estimated that she ate about a dozen of them. The mutton dumplings were especially delicious when dipped in vinegar, and her stomach was filled to the brim.
After lunch, He Guijuan checked the blood pressure of the elderly couple. Elderly people are prone to blood pressure problems as they get older.
"No problem, just be careful in your daily life and try to eat a light diet. If you feel unwell, be sure to come to the county hospital to see me in time."
"Do you remember?"
“I remember.”
Only then did He Guijuan put away the blood pressure monitor.
Jiang Jiang was watching He Guijuan measuring the blood pressure of the two elderly people. After measuring the blood pressure, He's mother called He Guijuan and Jiang Jiang to the kiln where the old couple lived.
The He family's cave has three holes, with stone hoops, large windows, and the windows and doors are connected together. The cave looks nice and sturdy. Although it is very expensive to build, this kind of cave is very comfortable to live in. It is warm in winter and cool in summer, suitable for all seasons.
The cave where the old couple of the He family live is not only used for sleeping, but also for cooking, eating and boiling water. As soon as you enter the cave door, there is a kang (kang) with a straw mat on it and a small table on it. The bedding has been rolled up at the corner of the kang. They just made dumplings and had their meal in this room.
Jiang Jiang was a little worried at first, afraid that her grandparents would dislike her like Old Lady Lin did. But when she came here, she found that her worries were obviously unnecessary. Not only her grandparents, but even her uncle and aunt were very nice people.
"Jiang Jiang, come here quickly."
Jiang Jiang took a step forward, and He's mother smiled and took the child to sit next to her.
"Your father and I prepared a gift for the child." He's mother said to her daughter.
He's mother took out a box from under her pillow and handed it to the mother and daughter. "Your father secretly went to find a master craftsman to make this. You put it on Jiang Jiang to protect the child from disasters and diseases and to help her grow up healthily."
Jiang Jiang opened the box, and inside the box lay a silver longevity lock. The necklace was inserted into the lock to form a loop that could be hung around the neck. It looked very finely crafted.
Jiang Jiang was a little surprised. She didn't expect the two old people would give her this. Although they were elders, the gift was a bit expensive.
He Guijuan was stunned for a moment, "Thank you, Dad and Mom."
In their hometown, the elders of wealthy families would give their newborn grandchildren decorative silver locks. This silver lock would be inserted into the lock with a necklace or silk ribbon to form a loop, which would be hung around the child's neck, with the lock hanging on the chest under the neck. It was believed that wearing a lock could protect the child from disasters and diseases and ensure healthy growth.
It seems that her parents accepted Jiang Jiang and treated her as their own granddaughter.
"Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma."
He Guijuan took the silver lock out of the box, put it on Jiang Jiang, and hid it in her clothes.
He Guijuan and Jiang Jiang stayed until around four in the afternoon before they got up to go back. He Guijuan had to go to work the next day, otherwise she could have stayed for another night.
He Xiaojun accompanied his sister and niece to the bus back to Qingjian County before turning back home.
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